


Routine

by koalathebear



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Older Man/Younger Woman, Polyamory, Post-Canon, The Drift (Pacific Rim)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-04
Updated: 2013-10-04
Packaged: 2017-12-28 09:11:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/990279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koalathebear/pseuds/koalathebear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Herc looked amused.  "That's a natural part of Drifting with someone," he told her in an understanding manner.  When you Drift, you always end up revealing a lot more about yourself than you intend.  Good pilot pairs learn to get over it – what you see in the Drift, stays in the Drift," he told her.   Except when it can't, he remembered with a pang.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"What if you don't want it to?" Mako asked unexpectedly.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Routine

**Author's Note:**

> Just a bit of fluff that hopped into my brain that I decided to jot down.

Mako and Raleigh heard the alarm at the same time and as usual, both started moving almost immediately. Mako swung out of the bottom bunk and Raleigh was already vaulting down lightly from the top bunk in the Hong Kong Shatterdome’s officers’ quarters. Another person might have misjudged the timing and landed on top of her but there was never any danger of that with Raleigh and Mako. He landed beside Mako.

"Movement in the Breach!"

Both were yawning widely as they studied the large deployment monitor through sleepy eyes. 

“Category V, biggest yet,” Raleigh read out loud, his dark blond hair tousled around his face. “Codename: Komodo.” He frowned. "Do you think that means it's extra venomous?"

Mako shrugged. "Hope not," she said with a grimace, reaching for her clothes as she scanned the information gleaned from the array of hundreds of remote sensors that dotted the Pacific Ocean. 

They were able to obtain information on a kaiju’s mass, speed, and physical form within seconds of it emerging from the Marianas Trench. To no one's surprise, when the Precursors had opened another Breach to access the Earth, it had still been in the Marianas Trench - the deepest part of the world's oceans. 

"Looks like Sydney deployed Kakadu Dreaming but it slipped by without breaking the ten-mile line," Raleigh remarked, reading the information streaming out of LOCCENT Command. "Guess they need to send in the professionals since those _Aussies_ dropped the ball," Raleigh jibed, pressing the intercom so that the LOCCENT could hear them.

"Shut up, Becket – you and Mori need to get over to the suiting area now," Herc Hansen's familiar drawl came over the intercom.

The Rangers exchanged laughing glances before racing off into the bathroom to dress and prepare. 

Their preparation routine was second nature to them, both were fast and efficient and there was no wasted time or unnecessary conversation. Three minutes later they were in the suiting area.

*

Now suited, the two of them stood together in the Conn-Pod on adjacent platforms, arms and legs spread. Control assemblies extended from the floor of the Conn-Pod, cybernetically mated with each suit, and spawned the holographic HUD above the command console.

The tech crew checked each link to make sure it was solid and then they withdrew, the door sliding shut behind them.

Raleigh and Mako ran the pre-deployment suit checks and pre-Drift link analysis that were like second-nature. 

“Good morning, sunshine,” Tendo Choi greeted them cheerfully. As the LOCCENT Officer, he continued to oversee major operations of Rangers deployed in Jaegers at the Hong Kong Shatterdome. The eyes and ears of their missions, he was typically responsible for naming and classifying the kaiju as they emerged from the Breach. By his own choice, he had remained at the Hong Kong Shatterdome, rather than being deployed elsewhere and a mission just wouldn't feel the same without his voice guiding them. 

The 'veterans' of the First Kaiju War wanted to stick together, possibly because no one else could understand them the way they understood each other. Familiarity and routine brought with it comfort.

" _Ohayō!_ " the pilots greeted Tendo in turn.

"Is the Australian still sulking?" Raleigh asked with a grin on his face.

“Engage drop, Mr. Choi.” Herc interrupted.

“Engaging drop, sir,” Tendo responded. "Yeah he's still sulking," he joked, a grin in his voice even as Herc gave a snort of laughter. He was used to the irreverence of his personnel and as an Australian, he actually welcomed it. He had never been one for over the top formality and pompousness.

Raleigh and Mako looked at each other.

“Release for drop,” Raleigh said.

Simultaneously they each hit buttons on the command console.

With a booming metallic snap the gantry holding the Conn-Pod and its cranial frame in place let go. The unit dropped down a vertical shaft, channelled by rails on either side. The Conn-Pod lurched and slowed, easing into place on the cervical assembly that locked Kodiak Storm's head into place.

“We are locked,” Raleigh announced.

The Jaeger Launch Bay groaned as the bay doors opened and a sliding platform extended out over the water, carrying Kodiak Storm on a gantry out into the ocean.

At a signal from Tendo, the gantry unlocked and the Jaeger dropped into the water with the force of a small meteor impact.

“Becket, Mori," came their commander’s voice. “Prepare for neural handshake.”

Inside Kodiak Storm one of the displays spawned a holographic representation of two brains, and the thousands of links between them and Kodiak Storm’s motor assemblies. Back in LOCCENT, Tendo Choi and Herc Hansen were looking at the same thing. 

“Starting in four... three...” Tendo Choi counted down.

At “one,” Raleigh turned his head and stared at Mako who was looking right back at him, a smile on her face, just like always.

Then, as their eyes closed and their heads jerked back slightly, they exploded into Drift Space …

*

_Mako as a child runs across a field, laughing as she runs. She runs past Raleigh as a child who turns and looks across at her. He holds out his hand and then they find themselves running down an empty beach hand in hand…_

_Yancy and Raleigh are in a bar, eying a pretty blonde across the room and daring each other to try their luck. Raleigh's attention is distracted from the blonde when Mako walks in the room, wearing grimy overalls and looks around the room, oblivious to the smudge of oil on her cheek._

_Mako stands in the graveyard that is Oblivion Bay and she reaches out her hand to touch Gipsy Danger, tears in her eyes. There is a flash and she is on an icy beach in Alaska as the huge Jaeger staggers to shore and crashes to the sand. When an injured Raleigh Becket staggers out of the twisted wreck of the Conn-Pod, he is bleeding and in agony, sinking onto his knees before her. Mako puts her arms around him and comforts him._

_Raleigh is at the Academy, staring in wonderment at a Jaeger._

_Mako and Raleigh are in the Shatterdome showers, water sluicing about their naked bodies as he is pressing her against the cold, wet tiles and they are kissing hungrily._

_Mako is in Tokyo, staring at Onibaba and screaming in terror. She feels a hand on her shoulder and she looks up and sees Raleigh in his Drive Suit standing behind her. "It's just a memory, Mako," he tells her and she jumps up into his arms, burying her face in his shoulder as he comforts her. "I'll keep the monster away," he promises her._

_Yancy and Pentecost are in Striker Eureka as it explodes beneath the ocean, faces contorted, voices screaming and tears are streaming down Mako's face and down Raleigh's face._

_Mako is on her knees before Raleigh, her dark head between his thighs submissively as his face is tense with pleasure, fingers tangled in her hair as he guides her head._

_Mako and Raleigh stand in a cemetery in Hong Kong, wind blowing through their hair as they place flowers on graves._

_Mako is lying in bed between Herc Hansen and Raleigh, naked limbs tangled, her face is flushed and she turns her head, feels the rasp of Herc's stubble on her skin as she kisses him._

_Raleigh and Mako are walking down the street, hand in hand, now and then they stop to kiss._

*

Reality rushed out of the Drift, and Raleigh and Mako heard Tendo Choi's familiar voice, like an anchor to the real world.

"Neural handshake strong and holding," he said, as the graphic of two brains converged into one. The links from the overlapped brain image to Kodiak Storm's control and motor systems lit up.

Raleigh and Mako were part of it now, and part of each other. It felt right and natural.

 _Do you only think about one thing?_ Mako demanded in Raleigh's head in exasperation.

 _"Ummm, excuse me – I think the shower fantasy is **yours** not mine – and what gives with the threesome with Herc?_ he demands, amusement colouring his thoughts. He started to chuckle aloud at her violent blush and the way her embarrassed thoughts start flooding his head. He was one of the most experienced Rangers in the Jaeger Programme so the almost overwhelming heat of her embarrassment didn't faze him.

The problem with Drifting was that sometimes thoughts and fantasies got jumbled and to be honest, it wasn't always clear whose fantasy was whose although hooking up with Herc was definitely a Mako thing. Much as he liked and respected the Australian, he certainly didn't regard him in _that_ way. Clearly Mako did. Not really a surprise. Raleigh tested the thought to see if it hurt but it didn't. He knew how Mako felt about him even if neither of them had acted on their feelings yet.

“Right hemisphere ready,” Mako said aloud, interrupting their unspoken conversation.

“Left hemisphere linked and ready,” Raleigh also spoke. "Kodiak Storm ready to deploy.”

They each raised one arm, and Kodiak Storm did the same, confirming the hundred-percent link between the gargantuan Jaeger and the twinned human minds controlling it.

“Rangers,” Herc started speaking, as Raleigh turned his head and raised an eyebrow at Mako wickedly. She gave him a warning look, even as her thoughts surrounded him again.

"Komodo is heading for the coastline. You are to intercept and destroy. Copy?”

“Copy that,” Raleigh acknowledged.

He turned and glanced at Mako. "When we're done today, we need to talk."

"Shut up, Raleigh," she told him irritably, even as her lips twitched.

"Guys – is there something I should know about?" Herc demanded over the intercim.

Mako and Raleigh grinned at each other.

“Let’s go!" Raleigh announced.

Simultaneously they hit the switches that engaged Kodiak Storm’s motor controls. The Jaeger roared to life, spouting a column of fire as it strode forward away from the LOCCENT bay doors, a phalanx of helicopters peeling away from it and returning to base.

*  
They were greeted by cheers and applause when they returned after having successfully destroyed Komodo. It had been a marathon battle but the tenacity and skill of the Rangers had won out in the end. Technicians were now hard at work repairing the acid damage caused by the kaiju during the ferocious battle at sea.

"That was a real nasty sonofabitch," Herc remarked as they walked through the hangar bay. "Well done," he praised them both, approval in his eyes. "Go and get yourselves cleaned up and take the rest of the day off. We'll do the mission debrief in the morning. Then you've got the press conference tomorrow."

Mako and Raleigh groaned and staggered their way to the showers, their battered and bruised bodies craving the hot water after what had been a particularly gruelling confrontation with Komodo. Raleigh's blond hair was dark with perspiration and Mako was almost swaying on her feet, only Raleigh's arm about her shoulders keeping her upright.

In the end, he just bent down and scooped her up into his arms, carrying her to the showers despite her protests.

"You're dead on your feet," he told her, ignoring her demands that he put her down on the ground again.

"I'm fine, just tired after four hours of being trapped inside that dirty mind of yours," she teased him.  
" _My_ dirty mind?" he protested in outrage. "I can't believe you would say that after the things I've seen in your mind, Mako," he pointed out with a laugh. 

Both of them stripped off quickly and in seconds were under the spray – on opposite sides of the low walls in the shower. Honour made him keep his eyes averted but every now and then he stole a quick peek. He knew Mako did the same. It was impossible to hide that sort of thing from your co-pilot.

"So when did your shower fantasy about me start?" he asked her and she rolled her eyes at him.

"It's your fantasy, not mine," she told him, enjoying the feel of the hot water sliding over her body. She closed her eyes and felt the tightness leave her muscles.

"No way," he protested, lathering up the shampoo for his hair as she did the same. Steam was rising and both of them felt the aches dissipating as the water soothed their battered bodies. "The Herc threesome thing is definitely yours, though, you can't argue with that." He started laughing as he looked over and Mako was blushing scarlet.

"Does the guy know how long you've had a crush on him?" Raleigh wanted to know.

She refused to answer and turned off her water, towelling down quickly and pulling on a clean pair of cargo pants and, black tank top and dark jacket. He sat down next to her on the bench, dressing quickly and pulling on his socks and lacing up his boots at the same she was doing the same thing.

Reaching out, he caught her hand in his and with fingers laced, they walked into Hong Kong without even the need to discuss where they were going.

*

"I ate too much," Mako mumbled sleepily as they made their way back to their room after dinner.

"I tried to stop you," Raleigh protested. "If you're going to throw up – give me some warning," he told her. 

"I always get hungry after a fight."

"No kidding – I know that by now!" he exclaimed in amusement. He'd started picking up the same quirk, too much to his bemusement. "Now you've infected me, too," he told her. The only consolation was that it was damned cute to see Mako walking with his arrogant swagger. She made it looked sexy as hell.

After they entered their room, both quickly undressed and got ready for bed. Mako slid into her bunk with a sigh of relief, exhaustion making her limp and sleepy.

Instead of clambering up into his bunk, though, Raleigh slid in beside her, pulling her up against his side as he made himself comfortable on the pillow, her head tucked into the crook of his shoulder as they had done many times before.

"You did good, today," he murmured against her hair and she made a pleased sound.

"You, too – co-pilot."

He smiled. Each time they were deployed, each time they Drifted, they just got better and better … Their neural handshake, already incredibly strong, was even more rock solid after more than a dozen confrontations during the Second Kaiju War. They had become one of the most formidable and talked about of the Jaeger teams.

She snuggled up against him contentedly, her hand slipping under his t-shirt to rest on his warm skin as he muttered under his breath about her being a tease.

Everybody assumed that they had already slept together. Everybody would be wrong. Despite the extremely tactile nature of their relationship, their closeness, their bond, their affection and their x-rated and explicit intertwined fantasies, unbelievably – they were still skirting on the edge of just being buddies and comrades. 

When they woke up the next morning, Raleigh decided to take matters into his own hands and proceeded to go where everybody in the world had assumed that they had already gone. Mako had no complaints.

*

Herc raised an eyebrow as his two top pilots made their way into his office for their mission debrief, neither looking at the other but there was definitely something very different about them. His sharp, blue-eyed gaze missed nothing – from the matching hickeys to Mako's bruised mouth, the slightly dazed look in her eyes and the look of satisfaction in Raleigh's eyes.

If it caused a slight pang …a flicker of envy, nothing in his face betrayed it and he was the embodiment of cool professionalism as he leaned back in his chair, shrewd eyes resting on their faces assessingly.

"You guys did a good job yesterday – minimal contamination, Komodo was contained quickly and efficiently and with no loss of life."

"Thank you sir," Raleigh said politely as Mako bowed slightly.

He listened as they took turns recounting their observations of the mission, providing feedback and assessing how things might have been done differently.

"You doing ok, Mako?" Herc asked curiously, staring over at Mako who had been contributing to the conversation but had been a little more quiet than usual.

Raleigh's mouth twitched but he said nothing as Mako shot him an angry glance.

Herc's eyebrows raised quizzically but he said nothing. "Dismissed," he told them both. 

Raleigh unfolded himself from his chair and left the room. Mako didn't move.

"Anything you care to tell me?" Herc asked. "Is everything all right?" he asked with concern in his deep voice.

Mako rose from her chair and shook her head. "I am fine, thank you, sir," she told him politely. "Raleigh has just been teasing me about … things he has seen in the Drift."

Herc looked amused. "That's a natural part of Drifting with someone," he told her in an understanding manner. When you Drift, you always end up revealing a lot more about yourself than you intend. Good pilot pairs learn to get over it – what you see in the Drift, stays in the Drift," he told her. _Except when it can't..._ he remembered with a pang.

"What if you don't want it to?" Mako asked unexpectedly.

Herc stared at her and she was standing with her eyes downcast, unable to meet his gaze, which was rather unusual for Mako.

"If you don't mind my asking, Mako – what exactly has Raleigh seen in the Drift?"

The room suddenly felt very small and Herc was extremely conscious, not for the first time, of what a lovely young woman Miss Mako Mori had become. He watched the rise and fall of her chest beneath the thick, dark blue denim shirt she wore, noticing the contrast with her smooth, pale skin. He studied the curve of her pale mouth, admiring her full lower lip.

Mako lifted her head and met Herc's gaze squarely and unflinchingly, her wide, dark eyes very honest and steady. Herc's mouth went dry and desire hit him like a fist in a way that was as violent as it was unexpected. He cleared his throat, aware that his body had tightened with arousal. Mako's eyes dropped and stared for a moment before lifting again to meet his gaze, her mouth curved in a faint smile of satisfaction.

The door swung open and Raleigh stuck his head in, blue eyes dancing with unholy amusement as he glanced back and forth between Mako's faintly flushed face and Herc's astonished face knowingly.

"So he knows?" Raleigh asked Mako.

"I'm beginning to," Herc muttered, staring at Mako who averted her gaze again.

Raleigh laughed.

"This doesn't bother you?" Herc demanded in disbelief and Raleigh shrugged. 

"I'm in her head all the time – I know exactly how she feels about me and how she feels about you."

Herc rose to his feet slowly, crossing his arms over his chest and shaking his head.

Mako walked over to him and stood on her toes and pressed a kiss to his firm mouth. Self control gave way for a moment and he pulled her against him, his mouth opening against hers hungrily as he tasted her. Then he released her and she drew back, face flushed, mouth damp and her eyes very wide and full of desire.

Raleigh was watching from the doorway, face enigmatic and eyes very dark. 

"This is very … bizarre…" Herc said harshly as Mako went to stand beside Raleigh.

"Maybe it's time to snap out your current routine," Raleigh told him as he and Mako left the room together, Mako glancing over her shoulder in a way that made Herc's pulse quicken.

After only a second's hesitation, Herc was following them through the halls of the Shatterdome. There was a first time for everything.


End file.
